The Great Cookie (or Treat!) Countdown Week 2: Brown Sugared Cinnamon Pecans

Hi and thanks for stopping by! This year I am on a mission to test drive one new cookie or treat recipe a week until Christmas. Join me as I find some new favorites, and have fun along the way!

This week, I made sugared nuts, specifically Brown Sugared Cinnamon Pecans. I've never made something like this. I've toasted my own nuts, made nut butters, but candy? This is something new. I'll have to say I was a bit intimitated -- it looked easy, was it really? Do you want to hear about all the candy I've failed making? Well, not that much, but enough to make me wary of something that looked soooo easy... it couldn't be, could it?

I am very pleased to report that in addition to tasting terrific, it IS very easy and quick too (How much better than that can a recipe be?). In under an hour you can make a tasty treat that would make a wonderful gift, or keep them to yourself for a fabulous sweet treat!

Here's the recipe I used. This is based on a recipe from http://www.simplyrecipes.com (a great site if you love recipe hunting as I do!). I hope you'll give this one a try!

Brown Sugared Cinnamon Pecans

Ingredients

• 1 egg white
• 1 Tbsp water
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups pecans
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preparation

1.  Preheat oven to 300°F.

2.  Break up or remove any clumps in the sugar. Put sugar, cinnamon, salt, and ground nutmeg in a zippered closure or other tightly closing plastic bag. Shake to ensure all ingredients are well mixed.

3.  Put egg, water, and vanilla in a medium sized bowl. Whisk the egg mixture until slightly foamy.

4. Add pecans and stir until all the nuts are well coated.

5. Remove pecans from the egg solution with a slotted spoon and place them in the bag of sugar and spices. When all pecans have been placed in the bag, seal well, then shake the bag making sure all the pecans are well coated. 

Smooth the nuts into a single layer on a baking pan lined with silpat, lightly greased aluminum foil, or lightly greased parchment paper. Before you smooth them out, they will look like this!

5.  Bake 30 minutes. Stir the pecans halfway through the cooking time,  redistributing the nuts uniformly across the pan before returning it to the oven to finish cooking.

6. Let cool completely before enjoying!

My whole family loved these! Do you have a variation of sugared nuts you'd like to share? How about another great holiday treat? Thanks for visiting and for sharing!

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